A Great Ride
Since returning to Curry High School four years ago to coach basketball at his alma mater, Mike Cain is having a ball.
Words by Terrell Manasco | Images by Blakeney Clouse
If Mike Cain was a fighter pilot, his call sign could be “Headbanger.”
In 1998, Mike was quarterbacking for Samford University against Jacksonville State, and after several attempts to connect with a Bulldogs receiver, Mike released the ball and was pummeled by a freight train in a Gamecocks jersey. He doesn’t recall stumbling off the field and collapsing on the sideline. Samford got a first down and Mike got a concussion—his 12th—and spent three days in the hospital.
“When you don’t take enough time off (after a concussion), it’s easier to get the next one,” he says. “There was a month and a half I couldn't really get out of bed.”
Fortunately for him, the aftereffects have been minor. He says that if he rides a ride that spins, it knocks his equilibrium off. Such is the life of a former hardnosed athlete who relished in contact.
Raised in the Union Chapel community, the self-described “old country boy” was a multisport athlete by the time he was five years old, enjoying the games of football, basketball and golf. In high school, Mike quarterbacked for the Walker Vikings until Coach Danny Gambrell left, and then he transferred to Curry High School. “An outsider coming in, I could have easily been shunned but everybody accepted me as if I’d been here my whole life,” he says.
After being recruited by Coach Chan Gailey in 1994, Mike headed to Samford University. When he arrived, Gailey was gone—he’d been picked as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ new offensive coordinator—and a new head coach, Pete Hurt, was at the helm.
At Samford, Mike “bounced around majors,” from nursing to accounting, before finally choosing physical education. He took six months off from school (“If you can’t get out of bed, it makes it a little hard to study,” he laughs), finished his last two semesters at Athens State, and earned his degree.
In 2004, Mike returned to his alma mater as offensive coordinator. He later coached at Oakman for a year, then returned to Curry as Shay Oliver’s assistant. “We had the 3rd and 4th highest scoring offenses ever here, and got them to the 5A playoffs,” he says.
After a year as Jemison’s defensive coordinator, Mike accepted the head coaching job at Dora High. He’s especially proud of his two years with the Bulldogs. “Those kids worked their tails off,” he says. “We feel like what we did there set them up to go to the playoffs the following year.”
Four years ago, Mike returned to his old stomping grounds as the Yellow Jackets head basketball coach. Now, just mention the word “Curry” to Mike and his face beams. It’s clear he’s having fun with this group of guys. “They definitely keep you on your toes,” Mike grins. “My mentality is, it’s not my team, it’s theirs. I’m just the guy at the head of the ship trying to give them a little direction. I’m extremely hard on my players, but I am fair. They will let you know I’m a difficult person to be around, but if they ever need anything, they know who to call. We feel like we've built a great relationship here with these kids.”
Of course, not every game ends with the coach being doused in Gatorade. Regardless of wins or losses, Mike is thrilled to be at Curry High and is optimistic about the future. “It’s been a great ride. We’ve had back-to-back playoffs in basketball, which is not done very often here,” he says. “We went back to the realm of 32 last year so we’re looking to do it again.”
As head coach at his alma mater, Mike Cain’s life has come full circle. “I can’t say enough about this place,” he says. “It's always felt like home.” 78